The Lost Girl (Complete)

Chapter Twenty Eight - The Next Page

Bag between his feet, Riley glanced around the saddened kitchen with a heavy heart. It wasn't all that hard to glean some of Celestia's story from the state of her aged home but everywhere he looked there were signs of someone trying their best to hide the worst traces of neglect.

Drawn to her diminutive frame and the way that she always glanced around at the groups of friends in their classes, he hadn't been able to hold back the day that he'd finally been close enough to start up a conversation. Don't get me wrong, he thought she was one of the most adorable girls that he'd ever met but there was also something that just made him think little sister whenever she sent him a sigh smile or stumbled over trying to contribute to whatever bullshit conversation Ririchiyo had managed to pull him into.

His protective instincts were definitely screaming at him whenever he saw her – most likely a good thing if the picture on the counter in front of him was anything to go by.

"So these are all of your cousins? And you only met them before you started at college?" From the small amount that she had shared about her mother, it wasn't impossible to believe that Celestia had been cut off from her family but it was kind of amazing that anyone could suddenly go from having no one to being surrounded by a rowdy, perfectly normal group of people that wanted to enfold you into their circle.

"That's them. My Aunt Sang did an amazing job raising them all," back to him as she started prepping for dinner, Riley missed the way she bit her lip. Although she loved the thought of bragging to him about how special they all were but there was the whole issue surrounding Sang's unusual situation. How did you even begin to explain that?

"Eh! One woman had all of these? She must have some damn interesting genes since none of them really look-a-like."

Able to giggle since she knew that he didn't mean that in a rude way, Celestia glanced over her shoulder with twinkling eyes, "Most of them are actually adopted so it's not really surprising that they don't resemble one another."

"Shit, put my foot in my mouth with that one," he grinned wryly. "It all seems a little complex, your family, but they make you smile so that's good."

"You have no idea," she murmured, looking out over the yard as it gleamed sadly in the moonlight. It had been a while since she'd been able to get out there and tidy any of it up but still...it had its own stories to tell and she held the hope that once the house was taken care of, her Uncle Owen might bless the garden beds with his green thumb.

"You sure that you don't want any help?" Riley asked, interrupting her wandering musings. "Dinner was great, by the way."

Giggling softly, she wiped her hands on a dry tea towel, "You've already said that twice now. And I'm finished so why don't I show you the bedroom you'll be in and the bathroom. I've also got some spare clothes around here that you can use to sleep in."

"That sounds great. I'm actually pretty tired even though I've done nothing today."

... ... ...

Laying the shirt that she'd managed to find out on the bed, Celestia paused at the sound of running water before she continued down the hall, her feet treading carefully as she took one step at a time down to the first floor.

She knew, after watching the car pull into the driveway, that Sang and one of the uncles was waiting, her heart beating erratically at what could have caused them to stop by at such an hour when none of the kids were in the house.

"Hey, baby," her aunt greet, voice soft and sweet as she accepted the cup of tea that Nathan set on the table. "Sorry for just letting ourselves in without calling first but we wanted to talk to you in person. Is this a bad time?" She pointed at the roof where they could easily here someone moving about.

Celestia shook her head, cheeks heating at being caught with a boy that none of them knew staying the night. "I invited a friend from college over. He's going to be staying with me for a little while, I think."

"Everything ok?" Uncle Nate asked, blue eyes sharp as he examined her face. "I didn't think that you'd be having other people over so soon."

"Is it bad? Riley seems really nice and I want to be able to trust him," she knew better than most what betrayals could come from the people close to you but she also knew that not everyone was like her mother and the men that she had involved herself with.

Sang smiled, waving her hand until Celestia had joined them at the table, "It's hard to open your heart when you've constantly had it broken but your past has probably made you an excellent judge of character so I'm not concerned and," she covered her niece's hand gently, "this is your home so you are welcome to have whoever you like here."

Plus we had him checked out, Nathan added silently, watching the two tiny women as they caught up, the topics light. It had been a shock when the others had suggested that he be the one to come with Sang for this talk with Marie's daughter but he couldn't say that he wasn't happy about being able to visit his old neighbourhood and spend a little more time with the girl who had gently carved her way into their family. Celestia Blackbourne, the broken and lost child who had accepted Owen's offer of his last name with tears in her eyes, reminded him so much of Sang when they had first met. She had a knowledge of the world that precious babies shouldn't – a sad weariness.

"Derrick came to see Marie," he threw out abruptly, pulling the conversation in the direction that it needed to go.

Sang sent him her version of a frown before patting their niece gently on the hand, "Sean told us everything. I'm sorry that I wasn't home when you called."

"It's ok," Celestia smiled, "I was surprised but I guess it was nice to know that Mum had some normal friends when she was younger. Did you get a chance to call him? He was pretty upset when I told him that she'd passed away."

"I never knew that they had gotten all that close but obviously a lot of things happened after I left. Derrick was a really nice boy back then and it doesn't really surprise me to hear that they'd had a relationship - he was always hanging around when we first moved into the area." Sang sipped at the tea, "Nathan and I got a chance to speak to him last night over the phone and we've organised to meet up in the next few days."

Nathan glanced at the roof, his ears picking up the sounds of someone settling into one of the beds - it was a little concerning that the walls and roof seemed to be so thin. Sure, the Academy had taught him how to tune into the surrounding environment but there was no way that he should be able to hear the springs creaking on the old bed in Sang's room. North definitely needed to get his ass moving to make sure that the next stiff breeze didn't knock the whole place over.

"We wanted to know if you'd like to come with us? I'm not too sure what he'll be able to tell us but there may be things that he knows about Marie that we don't."

Celestia bit at her lip, "I might be getting ahead of myself considering how Mum was with men but do you think that there's any chance that Derrick might be my biological father? From what he said, the timeline would fit and, well," she fingered a chunk of her mousey brown hair, "looking in the mirror, I can see a lot of similarities in our looks."

Nathan and Sang shared long look before he ruffled his hair with a grumble, "We kind of had the same thought but I wouldn't want you to get your hopes up too much. And even if he is, there might be a chance that he doesn't want to go for a DNA test." Feeling like a huge asshole for putting that sad look back in her eyes, Nate clenched a fist at the thought of someone not wanting to claim their own child when he would have loved one with Sang. "We can only talk with him about it and give him some time to decide, alright?"

Celestia nodded, breathing deeply so that she could give them a smile, "I would like to know but even if it's a yes or no, I think I'll be able to deal with it. I'm a Blackbourne after all."

Sang giggled, loving her serious husband even more for accepting Celestia into their family and giving her a name. "That you are, darling. Even if you eventually get married, that man will be hard pressed to let you take another last name now."